


Младшая сестра

by Caiti (Caitriona_3)



Series: Russian Roulette [4]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, Bratva, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-27
Updated: 2014-11-27
Packaged: 2018-02-27 05:46:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2681393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caitriona_3/pseuds/Caiti
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity wasn't sure what her expectations were when it came to living in the Queen household, but this...this connection with Thea Queen would not have been one of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Младшая сестра

**Author's Note:**

> Again, many thanks to nerrisdk for the Russian translations - which you will find in the end notes.

Living in the Queen residence proved to be as much of a public disaster as she’d feared. Rumors and gossip always spread like wildfire through most of the city, and especially in the corporate office, and the juiciest of them all centered on the tabloid-worthy lives of the Queens, particularly the siblings. Right now the tabloids focused on party-girl Thea with her penchant for being at every party in Starling City. They kept trying to focus on Oliver, but he didn’t cooperate. Everyone remembered Oliver as a partier and a playboy, always making news of some kind. She wasn’t sure who was more disappointed when he disappeared – his groupies or the money-grubbing paparazzi. His shocking return five years later startled everyone, but he had become much more of a recluse. The lack of newsworthy behavior didn’t convince anyone he had changed – they all just thought he’d learned discretion. 

The bubble of the ultra-rich and powerful could be both blessing and curse.

Now Felicity seemed to have stepped inside that bubble. After all, hadn’t everyone seen her leave work with Oliver Queen on that memorable Friday afternoon? Didn’t her neighbors mention seeing her whisked away from her apartment in an expensive black car? Had she not been chauffeured back to work on Monday morning?

Whether impressed or distressed by her apparent ‘landing’ of the heir to the empire, everyone felt she overstepped some invisible boundary. Even though Oliver did not actually work for the company, they assumed she intended to use her presumed relationship to curry favor and improve her position. Nothing she said could persuade them they were wrong about the whole thing. It was a little hard to argue when a driver dropped her off each morning and waited to take her home. Her work relationships began to shatter one by one. 

On the other hand, living there proved to have its own brand of charm as well. People included her, folding her into the daily life of the household without blinking an eye. They expected her to participate in activities such as family dinners and to give her opinions in conversations ranging from art and literature to politics and business. She finally got to meet Oliver’s bodyguard/driver, John Diggle, who insisted she call him Dig. She couldn’t decide if he liked her or not. Walter continued to treat her with a professional respect, though she noticed him using her first name at the house. It still startled her, and she had not yet been able to bring herself to call him by his first name. Although part of that was because she was afraid she would slip up at the office…and that wouldn’t be good for anyone.

Moira Queen took her aside within hours of her arrival to express her gratitude at what she called Felicity’s courage in trying to find a way to protect the company. Felicity tried to argue, but Moira would not hear of it.

“No, no, my dear,” she smiled, giving a shake of her head. “You could have ignored it, it certainly would have been safer for you. Instead you considered your choices and made what must have been a difficult decision.”

Felicity flushed. “Mrs. Queen, I-.”

“Call me Moira,” the older woman offered. “You put yourself into danger to protect my children’s legacy, I think it’s the least I can offer.”

Felicity found it peculiar in so many ways to be on a friendly, first-name basis with the Queen matriarch. Moira treated her as a welcome guest, warm and inviting, dropping pieces of advice or information whenever they spoke. It just seemed so bizarre. How was this her life? 

Then came the family’s wild child – Oliver’s little sister, Thea. Felicity met the high school senior on her first day in the house when the teenager came bursting into Oliver’s study, ranting about one of her bodyguards and his detrimental effect on her social life. Her commentary came to a halt as she spotted Felicity sitting across from Oliver. Thea rolled her eyes at her brother. “Since when did you start bringing your flavor of the month home?” 

A dark frown crossed Oliver’s face, but he didn’t get the chance to speak.

“Excuse me?” Her icy tone seemed to surprise both siblings, but Felicity only had eyes for Thea at that moment as she rose to her feet, unable to remain seated. “I don’t care who you are, I am no man’s ‘flavor’.”

“It’s not like Oliver has any female friends,” Thea replied, chin lifting in a haughty tilt.

“So you automatically jump to assuming a strange woman in the house is some kind of floozy?” Felicity demanded. 

Thea jumped up, mouth opening and a hot retort obviously ready, when Oliver stood up. “Достаточно!” Thea’s mouth snapped closed and she slumped back into her seat with a pout. Felicity didn’t bother. She turned her glare on him instead and he sighed. “Felicity is here as a guest,” he told his sister. “She is under the family’s protection.”

“Okay,” Thea drew out the word, suspicion still lining her voice. “Why?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Oliver replied as he sat back down. Now Felicity rolled her eyes and he frowned. “What?”

“You just told an outspoken, passionate teenager that a strange woman she’s never met before will be staying in the same house for protection and further informed said outspoken, passionate teenager that she shouldn’t worry about why thus implying she didn’t need to know.” Felicity waved a hand at him. “And you fully expect her to drop it!” She looked at Thea as she sat down, still not happy with the girl’s comments, but willing to try and meet her half way for the sake of peace in the household. “Does that actually work in this house?”

“No, not really,” Thea’s lips twitched in amusement. “I just let him think that.”

“That I buy,” Felicity nodded. She sighed. “Thea, believe me when I say this was not my first choice, but I…I can’t deal with the situation on my own, and it’s dangerous for me, so Oliver and Walter decided I needed to be here until they can handle things.” Her shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Best we can do is to try to stay out of each other’s way.”

Thea shook her head. “No way,” she replied. Felicity’s surprise must have been clear on her face because the teenager laughed. “Anybody that can glare my brother into making an explanation and put him on the spot like that? That’s someone I need to get to know.”

Oliver rubbed his forehead. “Возможно это была плохая идея.” Felicity frowned, but Thea gave him a wicked grin.

Despite the less than auspicious beginning, Thea became one of Felicity’s more frequent guests in the house. The younger woman would often seek her out in the evenings after dinner, talking about her day, her homework, and her various friendships. Sometimes they wouldn’t talk at all – Thea would flip through her magazines or do her reading assignments in the library where Felicity worked on various codes and technical proposals. That led to one of the most eye-opening moments between the two.

“Hey, Felicity, got a few minutes?”

Felicity looked up at Thea’s voice, a ready smile coming to her face. “For you? Always.” She waved the younger woman in. A small frown furrowed her brow as she took in Thea’s uncertain expression. “What’s up?”

“I hate to bother you, but…” Thea’s voice trailed off. She shrugged, dropping her backpack under the table as she let herself fall into the chair next to Felicity. 

“You’re not bothering me,” Felicity hastened to assure her. “Tell me about whatever it is and let’s see what we can do to fix it.”

Thea chuckled. “Homework,” she admitted. “It’s nothing big, just…homework.”

“I don’t know,” Felicity smiled. “I remember homework being a pretty big thing when I was in school.”

“Yeah, but…” Thea waved one of her hands. “It’s not work or family, it’s just school.”

“It’s your work,” Felicity frowned. “Right now that means it should be as important as anything one else’s job. And because it’s yours that makes it family.” Something in Thea’s voice and expressions got Felicity’s hackles up, but that could wait for another time. “Come on; show me what you’ve got.”

“Really?”

“Yes, of course.” Felicity pushed her work to one side and patted the now empty space. “Let’s see it.”

Thea flashed one of her brilliant smiles before pulling out a notebook. “It’s for history,” she explained. “We have to pick an important date from at least fifty years ago and then explain how it’s impacting us today.”

“Was that a quote?” Felicity chuckled.

“Pretty much.” Thea gave a mock shudder. “I don’t even know where to start. I mean, yeah, I get it. This stuff happened and it all led to today, but how do you figure trace that kind of influence.”

“Oh,” Felicity gave her a bright smile, “I think I can help you there.” 

They spent the next two hours discussing history and current events with Thea scribbling notes and ideas into her notebook. Felicity assisted in finding sources of information and suggesting ways to make the paper more acceptable to the teacher. Neither of them paid any attention to the passing of the time until one of the servants came to call them to dinner. Felicity eyed her young companion as they began to put their things in order.

“Thea, may I ask you something?” Felicity didn’t want to upset the now-smiling girl, but something about this situation bothered her.

“Sure,” Thea shrugged, looking up to meet Felicity’s gaze.

“Why did you seem to think I wasn’t going to help?”

Thea sat back, her arms coming up to cross over her chest as the smile dropped from her face. She stared at Felicity for a long moment. After a beat of silence, her head dropped and her voice fell to a mutter. “Because no one ever has time.”

Felicity touched her arm. “Oh, I’m sure-.”

“No!” Thea interrupted her. “They don’t. Oliver’s always busy with business or vanishing off to wherever he goes these days. Mom’s having her meetings and working with her charities. Walter’s usually working. No one has time.” 

Something about the way the girl held herself so still tugged at Felicity more than the lonely sound in her voice. She reached over and put her arms around the younger girl, not tight enough to trap her, but just enough to offer her some support. Thea stiffened at the first contact, but when Felicity just held her, the girl let herself go soft, inch by inch, until her head rested on Felicity’s shoulder. It took a little while, but she managed to tease Thea back into a smile before they went their separate ways. 

That encounter led her on a direct path to a more heated meeting with Oliver.

“Look, I’m not trying to tell you how to handle your family-.”

“Then stop,” Oliver told her, his mouth a harsh slash across his face. No humor softened those lines as he towered over her.

“I can’t,” she replied, her voice soft but determined. Fury flashed through his eyes, but she barreled ahead. “I can’t,” she repeated in a stronger tone, “because Thea’s lonely.” His shoulders twitched and the frown deepened. She bit her lip, worrying at it. “She was shocked, Oliver, completely shocked that I would take the time to help her with her homework.” Bewilderment entered her gaze. “That…that’s just…not right! She shouldn’t feel like it’s some kind of…of bad thing to ask for help with homework.”

He rubbed his chin with one hand, lips still firm with unhappiness, but something else began to flicker in his eyes. “We’ve been busy-.”

“Too busy for your sister?” she demanded.

The flicker turned into fury before it burned itself into frustration as he struggled to contain his reaction. “You don’t understand,” he started.

“No, no I don’t,” she agreed. Her hands came up, moving and waving in agitation. “I mean, I get it – I get that Walter’s got all the CEO responsibilities and the business, and that Moira’s constantly running around between social obligations and charity work and I don’t even know what all, and can I say I’m thrilled that’s not my life because I couldn’t handle the insanity of being in the public eye all that much? I can barely deal with the gossip rags now, let alone…okay, not where I was going with this.” She took a deep breath and tried again. “And yes, I know that you’ve got the…the…the _other_ family business to deal with on top of whatever you’re still working through from whatever happened.” He stiffened, but she threw up a hand. “And I am not asking!” she hurried to assure him. “That’s your business and you don’t need random people poking into it. I just pointed out that I know you’re still dealing with it.” Her eyes widened in emphasis and she stepped closer to him, putting a hand on his arm. “But Thea’s dealing with it too. She’s dealing with a brother she barely recognizes on top of a family whose schedule makes the White House look easy. She’s getting lost in the shuffle…and she knows it. You’re going to lose her before you even realize she’s drifting away!”

Oliver stared at her in silence and Felicity bit her lip once more. Her heart rate picked up as her nerves stretched in the quiet. The frustration in his gaze shifted, sliding through various emotions so fast she couldn’t keep track. Something settled in his eyes, but she still couldn’t place it. “And what would you suggest?”

“I don’t know,” she frowned, puzzled. “She’s your sister.”

“With all that fire and insistence and judgment, you don’t have a single suggestion?”

“Okay, wait,” she shook her head. “I didn’t mean…” Her voice trailed off, concern filtering into her voice as she replayed her words. “Oh, God, I did kind of sound judgmental, didn’t I? Oh…oh…that wasn’t…okay, well maybe a little…sort of? It’s not that I want to be, because I don’t, it’s just…. You didn’t see her, Oliver! She looked so…so… _defeated_. So…well, so not Thea.”

His hand came up to cover hers where it still rested on his arm. “You’re getting along with her, aren’t you?”

“It’s hard not to like Thea,” Felicity managed a smile. “Or, at least it’s hard when she wants you to like her. I think-.” She cut herself off.

“What?” he asked, eyes intent on hers even as he let a hint of teasing into his voice. “Don’t be shy now.” She tried to look away, but his free hand caught her chin and turned her face back to him. “What do you think?”

“I think she’s acting out, doing all of her crazy parties…I think she’s doing it because she wants attention, any attention.” The words came out of her in a rush.

“By getting into trouble?”

Memories, both good and bad, tugged at her, turning her smile bittersweet. “Take it from someone who’s been there,” she told him. “Bad attention from your family is better than no attention.”

His eyes narrowed, examining her, and she became very aware of their position – standing too close with one of his hands still holding her chin. “What-?” he began, but stopped as pleading filled her gaze.

“Please,” she said, trying to pull back. “Can we not? Not right now?” 

He held her in place, hands tightening on her for a brief moment as he stared down at her. “We will discuss this later,” he agreed, letting her go. She stepped back, taking the chance to regroup as he spoke once more. “Do you have any recommendations for my sister?”

“Spend some time with her,” she told him once she felt she could speak without her voice wavering. He lifted a brow at her and she shrugged. “It doesn’t have to be much. Watch a movie, go for a drive or a walk, maybe…I don’t know…take her to the zoo?” Her hands came up in a helpless motion. “Something you both like to do?”

He nodded, a considering look settling on his face. “I’ll have to think about it,” he told her. Her own eyes narrowed and he lifted a hand. “I promise, I’ll think about it.”

“Okay,” she agreed. “That’s all I ask.” Silence fell as their gazes locked. After a moment, she managed to give herself a mental shake. “I should…probably let you get back to…work.” She smiled and began to leave.

“Felicity?” 

She turned back to meet the half-smile that tugged at her every time. “Yes?”

“Спасибо.” His smile grew as she frowned at him.

“I still don’t speak Russian, you know,” she reminded him.

Now the smile turned teasing. “I know.” Oliver turned back to his desk, leaving her to stare at him for a long moment before she walked out of the room, shaking her head in exasperation.

“I swear, he does that on purpose, just to make me crazy,” she muttered. The rough chuckle behind her brought a blush to her face she could tell, but she kept walking, refusing to acknowledge any reaction – not the heat in her cheeks, and certainly not the catch in her breath.

She did _not_ ; repeat _**not**_ need to become attracted to Oliver Queen.

**Author's Note:**

> Младшая сестра - Little Sister  
> Достаточно! - Enough!  
> Возможно это была плохая идея. - This may have been a bad idea.  
> Спасибо. - Thank you.


End file.
